"The picture being painted by statistically low unemployment figures may be distorting reality when it comes to the true amount of people looking for work,” says Con Kittos, Executive Chairman of employment services provider, Asuria.
“New data published by the Australian Government Jobs and Skills Australia's Labour Market Insights, reveals a caseload of 770,476 people were registered with Workforce Australia in February, and seeking some form of employment support.
“That’s more than quarter of a million people more than the 507,500 people reported as unemployed in February, as part of the latest Labour Force update from the Australia Bureau of Statistics.
“While no-one is questioning the accuracy of the ABS figures, at Asuria, we have a more nuanced view of Australia’s labour force, compiled through the thousands of interactions we have with job seekers across the country every day.
“And while not everyone self-reporting to a survey may consider themselves “unemployed”, taking a more rounded view of the data, supported by real world experience, tells us that there are nearly 800,000 Australians out there looking for work for right now.
“So, instead of focussing on labour shortages at home and solutions from overseas migrants, let’s continue to put all our effort into giving everyone in Australia, who’s ready and willing to work, every opportunity to do so.”